Family Secrets
by EriksAngel2
Summary: A young girl is left orphaned one night, but years later, when a wealthy benefactor suddenly steps into her life, her world turns upside down and she learns more about herself and her family than she ever thought possible.
1. Chapter 1

Nicole snuggled up against the warmth of her mother's arm and closed her eyes. They had been riding in the carriage nearly all day and she was simply ready to be home. "How much farther mama?" she asked quietly, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Not much longer now love. Look out the window." Nicole crawled up onto her mother's lap and gazed outside at the city. "This is Paris darling and we live just on the other side of Paris," her mother explained.

The bright lights and elegantly dressed people fascinated the young girl. It seemed to her that everyone in the world lived here in Paris; everyone except for her. "Papa, why don't we live here? It's so pretty!"

Her father smiled lightly and chuckled softly. "Your mother and I used to live here darling, but we moved when we were married; before you were born," he stated.

Nicole slid down off of her mother's lap onto the seat of the carriage and pressed her forehead to the window. "But I want to live here," she pouted.

Her mother smiled and stroked her hair softly. "Perhaps one day you will, love, but for now we must stay where we are," she said lovingly. "Now come, sit here on my lap again and before you know it, we will be home."

_

* * *

_

_ What is on me?_

"Mama?" Nicole called weakly. Something heavy was lying on top of her but she did not know what. It was dark and she was outside but she did not remember how she had gotten out of the carriage. "Papa?"

She tried to push herself up but her small body could not lift the weight on top of her and she fell back to the ground. Even though she was but eight, Nicole knew that unless she could free herself she could suffocate. She used all the strength she had to begin to crawl forward, her nails digging into the dirt, and after several minutes of struggle she was free. Nicole gasped when she saw that their carriage was overturned on the side of the road.

"Mama! Papa!" she screamed. She turned and began sobbing when she realized that she had been trapped beneath her father's body. She ran to him and shook his limp form.

"Papa," she sobbed. "Papa, wake up…Please wake up…"

"Nicole…"

She heard the faint voice from down in the ditch and quickly scrambled down into it. There her mother laid, her beautiful mother, broken and bleeding and barely clinging to life. With courage beyond her years, Nicole took her mother's trembling hand and said, "Here I am mama."

Her mother smiled faintly against her excruciating pain and lightly kissed Nicole's hand. "Don't be afraid baby. Please do not be afraid," she whispered. "I love you."

"I love you mama," Nicole murmured through her tears. She paused for a moment then looked into her mother's eyes. They were full of pain and fear. She curled up beside her mother in the grass as the heavens opened and it began to rain. "Don't be afraid mama…"

* * *

"No survivors, what a tragedy."

The man's voice sounded far away, as if she were dreaming, but the morning sunlight forcing its way through her closed eyes made Nicole realize she was awake.

"Such a good family too. Looks like he must have died immediately," said a second man.

_ Papa? No, papa is dead. Mama is too._

"And Madame is down in the ditch with the little one. What a sad day it will be. They were very well liked they were," the first man added.

"Well, I suppose we should get Madame and Mademoiselle out of the ditch." Nicole's head throbbed as footsteps pounded the ground near her head and she clenched her eyes more tightly shut. Suddenly she felt her mother's body being moved and she cried out in protest.

"No! Mama!"

"Bloody Hell! Armand, the little one is alive!"

Nicole sat up and looked at the man, her eyes watering with tears. "My mama…"

He crouched down in front of her, his expression very somber. "Child, I am afraid your mother is…well, she-"

"Died," she finished for him. "What happened?"

He smiled sadly. "Why don't you come with me child? My wife can get you cleaned up and we'll find out what is to be done with you," he offered.

"I don't know you," Nicole stated.

"W-well I know you don't but you can't stay here in this ditch. You'll catch your death out here." He turned and looked over his shoulder. "Armand! Armand go and fetch your mother from the carriage!" He turned back to Nicole. "There, my wife is coming. Would that make you feel better?" Nicole nodded and the man smiled. "Why don't you climb on out of this ditch then, and my wife will be waiting for you."

Nicole did as she was told and when she reached the top of the ditch she was shocked by the sight of her father's body still lying on the road. "Papa," she moaned and fell onto his chest. Her tiny fingers brushed his blood caked hair back from his still handsome face and traced his regal features; features she would now only see in photographs and portraits.

"Oh darling," said a kindly voice above her. Nicole felt herself being lifted to her feet, but she was too heartbroken and tired to try and fight the hands that held her. Matching the kindly voice was a kindly woman's face. "Dear, come to the carriage with me. My name is Berthe." Nicole held tightly to the woman's hand and followed, casting one glance back over her shoulder just as Armand and his father brought her mother's body up out of the ditch. A sob escaped her throat as Berthe helped her up into the carriage and she retreated into the far corner.

"Oh love, I know this is all very terrible, but Martin—my husband that is—and I, we will find someone to take care of you and love you just like you were their own. I promise. Your parents had many, many friends and I know that there is someone out there who loved them almost as much as you did, and we will find them. Just you wait dear."

Nicole and Berthe sat in silence for ten more minutes until Armand and Martin climbed back into the carriage. "Well, the doctor's just left with—" Berthe shot her husband a stern glance, "them, and now it's off to Paris."

Despite her morose mood, Nicole could not help but feel slight interest at the mention of Paris. "Paris?"

"Yes. You need a place to stay and for the time being, that is with us," explained Martin. "Just until we find out who it is that your parents wanted you to stay with that is."

"You are going to love Paris dear," Berthe told Nicole happily.

_ Maybe if mama and papa could be there with me instead of…_

Another wave of tears spilled down Nicole's porcelain cheeks and down into her long black curls. "Mama…" she whispered and closed her eyes. She screamed when she did so however causing the other passengers of the carriage to jump in alarm. The frightened girl flew into Berthe's arms sobbing and trembling. "I saw them…I saw mama and papa…Why did they die?"


	2. Chapter 2

_**One Week Later**_

The door to the office opened after one knock and a stern looking woman appeared. Nicole retreated behind Berthe and the woman smiled slightly. "This is the child then?" she asked, then, without waiting for an answer, went on. "She looks much like her parents. Please, come in." Nicole thought to herself that the woman seemed much more pleasant that she first appeared and was far more interested to know how this woman had known her mother and father.

The woman seated herself behind her desk and motioned to two chairs that Berthe and Nicole then sat in. "Now, I understand that you have not found a will. Is that correct?" asked the woman.

Berthe nodded. "That is correct Madame. We are still searching the house but so far we have found nothing to indicate their wishes on Nicole's placement," she explained.

The woman sighed. "They were too young to believe they would need one yet I suppose. Very foolish of them considering what they both experienced in their lives." She sighed again and then looked to Nicole. "Nicole?"

Nicole had been looking at all the paintings in the room and had not been paying attention to a word that had been said, but snapped to attention when she heard the stern woman address her. "Do you like to sing or dance? Or do you perhaps play an instrument?" she asked.

The girl smiled. "I always liked when mama would sing for me," she said.

The woman smiled. "Yes, I am sure you did, but do you like to sing?" she asked again.

Nicole nodded. "Yes, but I am not as good as mama was," she replied sadly.

"Oh but you could learn to sing like your mother child. There are wonderful voice instructors all over Paris who would be more than happy to teach you," the woman told her.

Nicole smiled again. "Mama said an Angel taught her to sing."

Berthe laughed. "Nicole that is just a story your mother was telling you."

"Oh no," said the woman, "she was indeed taught by an Angel. The Angel of Music she called him." The woman nodded. "He taught her very well; very well indeed." She stood and crossed to a window and stared outside, apparently lost in thought.

"Madame?"

"Oh, excuse me. I am sorry. I was just thinking about your mother Nicole," she said softly, tears glistening in her eyes. She cleared her throat and sat down once more. "I have no problem with the child staying here at the Opera. I can train her to be a dancer as her mother was and find her a voice instructor as well."

"I want Mama's Angel!" Nicole exclaimed.

The woman smiled wistfully. "Sadly Nicole that is not possible," she stated.

"Why not?" the girl asked sadly.

"He…only teaches the ones he chooses to teach. I cannot tell him to teach you. Besides, it is very difficult to speak to an Angel."

"Could you please ask him?" Nicole pleaded.

The woman sighed softly. "I will try Nicole." Nicole smiled brightly, an action that made her look ever so much more like her mother in this mysterious woman's eyes. "You are a very beautiful girl Nicole. You look just like your mother did when I first met her."

"Really?" the girl asked excitedly. She had always thought that her mother was the most beautiful woman in the world so to be told that she looked just like her was a very great compliment indeed.

"Oh yes. She had that same long, dark hair and those wonderful big eyes. Hers were darker brown of course, but yours are every bit as beautiful. You have some of your father in you as well," the woman mused. "However, it is your mother that I see the most. If you inherited her talent as well you will be a splendid talent here at the Opera. Now, come child. I will show you to the dormitories."

The woman rose and strode to the door and Nicole looked to Berthe nervously. "Oh love, she will take good care of you. She raised your mother you know." When Nicole did not look convinced, Berthe spread her arms wide and Nicole ran to her. "Everything will be just fine dear, you'll see. You are going to just love it here, I know it," she whispered as she held the softly crying girl tightly. "Now you be brave just like your mother and father would want you to be hmm? You are the daughter of nobles; make them proud. Now run along girl."

Nicole stepped back and wiped her eyes. Berthe was right; her parents would want her to be brave like they were. Her mother had told her not to be afraid and she would do as her mother had said. She looked to Berthe and smiled. "Thank you for taking care of me Berthe," she said quietly. She then turned and walked to the woman. "I am ready now."

"Very good child." The woman held out her hand and Nicole grasped it tightly as they walked out of the office together. "I will give you a proper tour of the Opera sometime Nicole, but for now I will just take you to your room. You look tired."

"I am a little tired Madame," Nicole replied.

"You can meet my Granddaughter. Her name is Paulette, and my name is Madame Giry. I am the Ballet Mistress here," the woman told her.

"It is nice to meet you," Nicole stated.

"I will take good care of you Nicole." Once they reached the door to the dormitories Madame Giry stopped and crouched down before the girl. "Your mother was like a daughter to me and I know that there are many things about her life that you still do not know. When the time is right, I will help you to uncover the secrets of her past, but that time will not be until you are much older. For now, rest and tomorrow I will show you your way around." Madame Giry stood and kissed Nicole on the top of her head, smoothing back her masses of black hair. With that she strode off leaving the girl even more confused than when she had first arrived at the Opera.


	3. Chapter 3

"This was your mother's room dear." Madame Giry stepped aside to allow the curious little girl to venture inside the room.

Nicole walked timidly inside and looked around. The room was dusty and she could tell that it had not been used for many years. "This was my mama's room?" she asked more to the room than to Madame Giry. She crossed the room and sat softly on the divan. Looking around, she tried to picture her mother sitting at the vanity brushing her beautiful long curls, or standing before the full length mirror in a beautiful opera gown.

"Do you think you will be happy here Nicole?" Madame Giry crossed to sit beside Nicole. "Do you want to stay here and learn to sing like your mother?"

Nicole looked to Madame Giry, her eyes watery. "I miss her," she whispered.

"Oh child," Madame Giry took the girl's face in her hands, "I know. I miss her as well. There are many people who miss her. But she would want you to be strong wouldn't she?" Nicole nodded. "Yes, that's right." She paused for a moment before continuing on. "Now come along, there is one last place I would like to show you."

* * *

The room was destroyed, debris littered the floor, broken glass was strewn everywhere, and numerous candles smoldered in various areas of the room. Standing in the middle of it all, fuming in rage, was the man responsible for the destruction. His chest heaving and his eyes a deep red, he had lost all sense of reality. All he could feel was the rage coursing through his body.

"Erik, there is nothing you could have done! There is nothing anyone could have done! It was an accident; a tragic accident, and there is nothing you can do to change it or bring her back now!" Nadir, Erik's ever faithful conscience—and the closest thing Erik ever had to a true friend—tried desperately to reason with him.

Nadir's rationale faded into a crushing silence. It swirled around the room, weighing down upon the men, until finally Erik spoke; his voice quiet and unearthly dark and eerie. "I have no desire for you to be here now Daroga." Nadir, usually one to argue Erik's quick dismissals, did not need to be told twice this time.

"Very well Erik," he murmured and exited hastily. Erik did not watch him leave, nor did he even seem to comprehend that he had in fact left. He made no movements other than the rise and fall of his chest. Slowly, it was as though he came to life. He blinked rapidly to clear the red haze from his vision and he slowly unclenched his bloodstained fists.

Gazing around at the destruction he had created, his eyes fell upon one item that had miraculously escaped the devastation unharmed. It was a single sheet of paper, and from where he stood he could not tell what it was. He walked to it, wondering what it could be, and then bent to retrieve it from the floor. As he began to look it over, he realized immediately what it was and fell to his knees.

"Christine…" he whispered as a wave of tears ran down his face. He pressed the drawing to his heart as he wept; his rage of before dissolving into unspeakable sorrow. Every detail of her beauty was perfectly captured in that drawing; every curve of her face, every curl in her hair, and the smile in her eyes. He had drawn it while watching her at rehearsal one day. She had known him then only as her Angel of Music. Now she truly was an angel, and he would never see her again.

* * *

"You must understand this Nicole: you are never to come here alone. Is that clear?"

"Oh yes Madame, even if I could remember the way, I don't like the dark," Nicole hastily agreed. The two had traveled deep under the Opera and Nicole did not care much for the dark, damp, cold world she was being shown. She did not understand the reason she was being brought here, but assumed that the sometimes mysterious ballet mistress would explain herself. Soon they entered a cavern filled with an eerie blue glow. Nicole stepped forward as Madame Giry motioned for her to do and she realized that the glow came from an enormous lake. "Oh Madame! There is a lake!" she exclaimed.

Madame Giry smiled softly. "Yes child, I know. This is what I wanted you to see. Your mother…discovered this lake as well and therefore I thought you should see it," she explained. "Remember though, I do not want you wandering about down here. It is much too dangerous."

"Why is it—"

"It is much too dangerous." The ballet mistress cut off the girl's question sharply and gave her a look that Nicole understood to mean not to ask further questions. She simply allowed Madame Giry to take her hand and lead her back upstairs. "Now, run along child. I told Paulette to meet you in the dormitories. She has been excited to meet you."

"Yes Madame." Nicole gave a small curtsy as she was so accustomed to doing and hurried off to the dormitories, anxious to meet Paulette and hopeful that she would quickly make a new friend.

Madame Giry sighed as she watched the girl go, knowing that one day she would begin to ask questions about her past; questions that would certainly not have easy answers.


End file.
